Unknown
by Asarikou-chan
Summary: AU. He had been sealed as a part of the deadly war and prevented from choosing which side to be with. Emotionless, he continued his mission. However, the appearance of new pieces to play with started to affect his memories…and his future.
1. Page One: Interlocked Eyes

**...!~**

* * *

**Unknown**

**Interlocked Eyes**

Soft flakes of white, shining snow sent their greetings to the already frozen air. A white Christmas. That what it would be if the snow agreed to visit the earth a month later from that moment. It usually falls during the year but the opportunity of having white Christmas was not certain. Nothing in life was certain and snow was part of the nature's phenomenon. Unpredicted and sudden even in a cold city like Sapporo.

Deep blue eyes looked at the sky and examined the amazing shapes the snow was disguised in. They willed their owner to forget the meaning of time and the snow that touched his pale cheeks every now and then.

It was strange to feel too lost in the whiteness around him, for he wasn't the most natural guy there. The nature was something that deserves appreciation but he was too busy to give his precious attention to such simple aspects of life yet the snow's scent was different as if whispering an unknown message to him. Weird. He felt as if the snow wasn't sure of the message's content itself.

His blessed silence was cut short when hurried footsteps ran towards him before the one who was running panted tiredly. An exclamation that turned into confused complaint followed the pants seconds later. 'It is snowing again. They said it is goanna be clear today!'

Momentarily silence joined the peaceful atmosphere before the same guy stabbed it mercilessly and addressed the blue-eyed teen in a failed scolding manner, 'We will be late, Kouji. It is not the time to watch snow.'

The addressed, Minamoto Kouji, scowled. 'Wasn't it your fault, baka? You woke up _later_ than usual.'

The other boy pushed the snow from his own shoulders and replied sheepishly, 'The alarm clock wasn't working. I depended on _you_ to wake me up.'

Kouji crossed his arms against his chest and rolled his eyes. 'I am not your roommate, Takuya. Beside weren't you the one who insisted to have breakfast before going to class?'

'Hey! You need to eat to survive! You wouldn't have your breakfast if it wasn't me who dragged you to the cafeteria.'

'Who asked for your help?'

'You don't have to thank me, buddy.' answered Kanabara Takuya in his famous an ear to ear grin, ignoring his friend's rhetorical question and receiving a deep scowl in return.

Kouji sighed and said hopelessly, 'I can't believe you turned fourteen, Takuya. You are really immature.'

Takuya giggled for no good reason. 'You wouldn't find a better friend, bandana boy.'

If Kouji wasn't pushed to his limits then the last comment would surely drove him mad. What was wrong in wearing bandana? It was cool but the adults didn't feel like understanding its importance to him. In fact, he didn't even remember who gave it to him but he was too attached to it since he forgot when. Not that he dared to express being _attached_ to something. Not to that goggle-head at least.

'Guys…?'

The young voice brought them out of their small chit-chatting morning quarrel.

Takuya turned to the approaching figure, immediately recognizing the light brown haired kid. The boy's hair was several shades lighter than his own. He was wearing a white sleeved shirt with deep blue pants; the sports' uniform. A basket ball rested under his right arm. He blinked at the other two elder boys before muttering innocently. 'Half the first period had passed by now, Takuya-nii.'

Takuya cursed at the reminder, receiving a glare from Kouji that indicated that cursing in front of a kid wasn't allowed. Not that their young friend was a kid anymore but he had always been the gang's baby.

'I overslept…' he paused at the too-familiar understanding look from their young friend and added to defend himself. 'But it wasn't my fault, Tomoki. Kouji overslept too. He always comes to wake me up when I oversleep but today he came too late.'

'And is it my fault now?'

'I am trying to defend myself here.' Takuya shoot back desperately.

'The dorms are ten minutes far from the school building.' Himi Tomoki muttered to himself before adding in a pure questioning voice. 'But shouldn't you go to class…now? You will get detention for the whole week if you came in the last few minutes.'

Kouji could swear that Tomoki was more mature than Takuya. He buried his hands in his grey pants' pockets and sighed. A whole detention week with Takuya wasn't something he was looking for beside they both have to hand the English essay two days from now and a three hour-detention after the end of school wouldn't give them a chance to finish it. Why should he be paired with Takuya of all people? Ah, yes because if he worked with a girl, she wouldn't be able to utter a word in front of him and if it was another boy, they would end up killing each other. Boys were already jealous of how girls were crazy over him. Was it his fault that he was a good looking boy?

'Let's go, Kouji. We will be late.'

Kouji gritted his teeth threateningly yet he allowed his friend to drag him towards the school building. _And now Takuya is acting too responsible._

Tomoki chuckled softly at the familiar scene and ran to the sports' hall, hoping the teacher wouldn't be angry at him for being late himself.

* * *

They ran frantically towards the classroom in the third floor. Before reaching the targeted room, Kouji calmed his running and started walking normally but in a fast pace unlike Takuya who was like a horse that forgot its brakes. Takuya rushed into the room without knocking the door and bowed in a light speed, leaning till he felt that he would lose his balance along with the disobedient goggles on his head. He cried out in an exaggerating apologizing manner that looked like a whine. 'Gomen nasai, Aisaka-sensei. _I_ wouldn't be late again. Please, don't give _me_ detention till the end of the year!'

Silence. Then the sounds of uncontrollable laughs and giggles exploded around him as if abnormally humorous jock had been told. Just then, Takuya realized that the room was noisier than normal. Before he could raise his head to see the reason of the laughter, a thick book was about to smash his skull but it reduced its power to knocking him to the ground. A feminine embarrassed voice appeared between the laughs. 'Seriously, Takuya, think before you act for once.'

He blinked before turning his head to the voice's owner and the first and currently most important thing he realized was that the teacher was nowhere to be seen.

The blonde girl that was still clutching the book firmly yet was unable to abandon the small smirk on her lips sighed in exasperation. She was wearing the same uniform he and Kouji were wearing but instead of the gray pants, she had a short gray skirt with long black soaks that reached her knees, a white blazer was underneath the black sleeved jacket with a neat red tie. She placed the book on the third desk in the middle raw where she sat silently. She pushed her long golden hair behind her ear and crossed her arms just like how Kouji did once he entered the classroom.

Glaring playfully at the baffled brunette, she chuckled. 'Believe it or not. The teacher didn't come yet.'

The class had forgotten them and returned to their respective work that included playing cards, chatting, hand wrestling, or even climbing the desk for a better vision from the windows. It was a bit shameful to see such behaviors from students in a boarding school. But kids will remain kids or even teenagers will simply act like teenagers.

Takuya returned to his place in the left side of the blonde and pouted cutely. 'That wasn't nice, Izumi. How could I know she isn't here?'

'By simply listening to the noises in the class or the way the students were acting. Heck, didn't you notice how the class was upside down?' Kouji murmured and sat in front of Takuya's disk.

'Shut up, Kouji. I was trying to save _us_ from detention.'

'As I remember you didn't even mention me in your apology.'

'Well…you don't like me talking instead of you.'

'Because you will ruin everything.'

'So what the heck are you blaming me for now?

Izumi sighed again and brought another book that matched the first one in its heaviness and glared at them. 'If you don't shut up, I will hit you both. And material arts won't help you a bit, Kouji neither your soccer training, Takuya.'

The two boys looked at each other with deadly glares before looking the other way in a clearly childish way. So Izumi did the logical thing then: sighing and muttering in irritation. 'Boys!'

How she could go along with them, she would never know. Not that she would ever ask for better friends. The two bickering children and the sweet Tomoki along with their eldest friend who had informed her in the morning that their teacher might not come. Shibayama Junpei was in the student council and once he had heard about a new student that would join their class, he predicted that the first period would be a mess. The boarding school wasn't used to accept students in the middle of the semester which meant the new kid's family has such great influence and that he would need some help from the class home teacher which was fortunately for them Aisaka-sensei.

Damn it! Takuya and Kouji were too late so that she weren't able to tell them about the new kid's news. But part of her wanted to punish them for being idiots simply by not telling them. Still, they were always late but not this late. Usually, Kouji would continue knocking on Takuya's dorm room, forcing him to wake up no matter how stubborn his sleepiness was. So, them being late meant that Kouji himself was a bit late and it was too much unlike him. Her green eyes moved around the room to notice that Kouji was completely ignoring Takuya's pen pocking on his back as he continued gazing softly and a bit distantly at the falling snow. She loved snow but it was quite uncomfortable to live in the numb whiteness around her. She liked snow much better in Italy. It was a little bit similar to Shibuya's snow but Sapporo was known by its cold snow.

After three years of being friends in a public school, they ended in the same boarding school and it was their second year in _Sekai_ boarding school. Her parents thought it would be better if she moved into a more sophisticated boarding school. Takuya got a soccer scholarship to the same school. Kouji didn't like the idea of staying behind after his father's second marriage so he joined them. She didn't try to interfere in Kouji's personal life but she knew that Kouji was here to escape his new family. Their youngest friend came to the same school as a family tradition. His eldest brother who was studying in Tokyo's college now was a student in this school and Junpei preferred attending the school to get a better learning in addition to the opportunity of joining his , they ended up attending the same school

Excuses. All the reasons they joined the school for were fake triggers. The main reason was to stay away. Their parents wanted them to stay away because it was safer…

She lent on her chair, studying the students' aimless behaviors to release the buried energy inside them.

_"The Army's Defense Forces managed to foil the insurgents' latest terrorist attacks in Okinawa…"_

A couple of girls were listening to the news via one of their cell phones radios.

Nothing had changed. Those who were trying to distant themselves from the outer world's conflict had long realized that it was the same. The war-if they could call it that- became more intense every second and no one knew who was right and who was wrong anymore. Those who claimed that their aim is protecting the weak and the poor from the government's clawed laws and unfair control and others who confidently declared that they are the people's represented authority who fight for their happiness and development used power to make the change while innocent people suffer along the way. The normal people preferred not to understand and to stay away as much as possible. Their parents' golden chance to save them was by sending them here to the far North. At least, they would make sure that they were far away from any future conflict in the main districts like Tokyo.

The news had evaporated and listed as old, useless news by most of the kids who acted as if the world was more peaceful than they could ever ask.

A panting kid entered the room hurriedly, slamming the door behind him in panic. Silence smirked as the scared dirty blonde haired boy announced in frantic breathes. 'Aisaka-sensei and the headmaster are coming here. There is a new kid too...'

An abnormal mess spread in the classroom as each student returned to his or her respective seat. Kouji and Takuya exchanged confused glances before looking at Orimoto Izumi who shrugged. 'I wanted to tell you but you didn't give me a chance. A new student will attend our class. Junpei told me this morning.'

Takuya scratched his chin with his fingertips, murmuring to himself. 'I won't accept a new roommate.'

'Shut up, Baka! Who said he will become your roommate? Are you even sure he is a he?'

'Well, he is a boy. That is the only thing I am sure about regarding him.' Izumi interfered.

'So the possibility of him sharing a room with me is high. How many rooms you know that doesn't include two anyway?'

It was rather strange and quite relieving not to have a roommate and in Takuya's opinion, the worst thing in a boarding school was a roommate you have to fight with for every single little detail regarding the room and its manners like sleeping, eating and even the bathroom usage. He was glad to be alone in his dorm. Kouji's roommate was a year older than him and he was barely in the room. All the time either studying with his friends or visiting the library. Kouji didn't even know his first name despite sharing a room with him for more than a year. That guy was the kind of guys that you don't even feel their presence and Kouji was glad for that. A roommate like Takuya would certainly drive him crazy in no time.

Then the door opened in a swiftly manner, showing their dark-haired teacher who smiled at them warmly but firmly. Her bright brown eyes that matched the formal suit she was wearing shifted between students gently but allowed them to read the hidden threat for what they did in her absence. Their voices had been loud enough to show her their _respectful_ behaviors. Beside her, the headmaster stood calmly. He was a short, fat man in his fifties, known by his loyalty to the government. During the schools ceremonies, he kept guiding his students to follow the government path, calling the rebels a bunch of rats.

Her warm smile lasted a little longer. 'I assume you were behaving well in my absence.'

Nervous glances told her the answer but she kept her nerve-racking smile. 'So, today we will greet a new student in our class. Be sure to make him _very_ welcome...'

She moved to stand beside the headmaster, exchanging few words with him. Her movement allowed the hidden new kid to appear.

The lack of the uniform shook them. The school was a very strict one that didn't allow students, even the new ones, to attend classes without wearing the united uniform. Blackness gave the first impression of him. Black tight jeans, large, silver belt joined his pants with the tight-collared blank dark blouse. Unbuttoned leather, deep grey sleeveless jacket with metal buttons around its collar. The jacket's hood covered most of his messy dark bluish hair that framed his elf-like features to reach his shoulders. Kouji had to wonder about the reason beyond the administration agreement that allowed the other to wear what looked like an emo outfit. Strangely enough, the boy seemed quite different from his outfit as if he was... forced to fit into them despite how perfectly they matched him. It was just a feeling but for an unknown reason Kouji believed it. The boy's slender fingers removed the hood calmly, allowing the pale skin that matched his dark hair to give them a strong reminder of the snow-white princess' description in a western story. His eyes were closed against the whispers and the girls' loud squealing about how cute he was. Slowly as if debating to respond to their comments, he opened his eyes.

Kouji was sure that he had never seen someone so…different like the other. He was taken aback by the stranger aura that the boy's eyes radiated. The dark ocean-like eyes that looked eerily like his own were calm, asleep and in a manner…dead. He felt his own soul being reflected in the boy's captivating eyes. Faint whispers had stopped suddenly except for a girl's comment with "Scary…"

To be honest, the boy's eyes were certainly scary as if they were able to swallow the soul of whoever tries to unveil their story. Kouji's breath grow heavier against his well. He felt the cold sweat dripping from his forehead yet that didn't stop his eyes from seeping in the other's blank ones. They were emptier than how his own eyes had been before meeting his friends. He could feel the students' nervous glances and continuous stares at every inch of the new kid's body. For a moment there, the boy looked like a broken Chinese doll, which doesn't have any other mission except tempting people to stare at. Their teacher swallowed in nervousness and whispered gently to the boy whose eyes kept wondering between the students' eyes in what could look like examination. Her words went unnoticed as the strange kid's eyes locked with Kouji's.

How long had their meeting continued, Kouji didn't know but that mutual stare forced his heart to sink deeper than he had ever experienced. He had never thought much about whoever appear in his life. It was strange and even a bit ridiculous to feel quite different about the new kid's eyes. Something in them…was calling him. And the world looked as if it had vanished around him, leaving both of them alone. The new boy's eyes kept looking at him while Kouji's couldn't stop. The boy's stare was uncertain, lost yet firm enough to prevent him from looking away.

Their teacher called the strange boy's surname hesitantly. Her words brought Kouji to reality despite not being able to recognize the surname. He felt his body shivering for no reason. Izumi and Takuya gazed at their friend worriedly but he seemed as if he didn't even feel their concern. His eyes shifted instantly to the wooden empty desk table.

Takuya couldn't understand whatever had happened. The transfer student development? He couldn't help but wonder at the phrase, he was too used to hear while watching anime. A new student in the middle of the year with a powerful charisma. He snickered mentally, wondering whether this boy was an alien from the outer space or a highly programmed robot that happened to look like his best friend. He could understand now why a transfer student means trouble in anime. Something about the new boy sent him to his edge. Aside from the bluish hair, the pale skin, the boy's eyes terrified him. He didn't want to admit the impact of the boy's strange look at all of them but he felt that the short raven haired teen's gaze at him and Izumi were quite longer than his gaze at the others as if he was calculating something. Yet, the eye contact he made with Kouji was the most prominent one. Some girls had looked between the two of them in confusion and maybe that was the moment when Takuya recognized the somewhat similar features. Was this the reason behind Kouji's clear tension? He had never seen his cold friend so confused before. Confusion wasn't the only thing that described Kouji's reaction when the boy appeared. Something about this new student was challenging. Why would a new kid challenge them anyway?

Stressed silence forced the teacher to clarify her throat patiently. 'So you see here. I'd like to introduce our new student myself…'

'Oshiro Kouichi.' The sealed lips parted slightly. Izumi couldn't put a finger on the way the other had spoken with. It was monotonous and low but mechanical enough to force all heads to look at him. Oshiro? She was sure that she had heard that surname before but she couldn't remember where.

He bowed slightly as if unsure whether it was appropriate or not after few minutes of silent staring at them. _It is surely uncomfortable,_ Izumi thought. The boy didn't even say the normal greeting of "Nice to meet you and I depend on your care". She exchanged a worried look with Takuya before turning to Kouji who was so deep in his thoughts to recognize their stares. What happened to him anyway? Since when did he notice anyone? But they noticed Oshiro-kun as well. She had to wonder if it was coincidence that the other's face looked like her friend. Even their names were slightly similar. No wonder Kouji didn't look like himself then.

Fuzzy atmosphere sipped in the introduction's following silence. The teacher asked a girl in the desk beside Kouji to retreat to another desk. The girl obeyed nervously but the students kept gawking at the boy who sat silently in his chair. Kouji's breaths turned from being shallow to calm monotonous breaths.

'O-oshiro? A-as in Oshiro Tak…Takeshi?' a girl in the first raw gasped suddenly in fear as if she as mentioning a name of a devil. The teacher looked at her in deep worry.

Whispers ran in the class like hay in fire . And Kouji understood why suddenly as the name hit him hard. The Rikugun Taishō Oshiro Takeshi was the name of the Minister of Defense. It was the name of the one who was leading the governmental current operations in Okinawa. The one who didn't hesitate to erase a whole region in Nagasaki two years ago because of the possibility of the terrorist existence there. It was the proud operation that gave him the rank of a minister. He had even appeared in the news later, expressing how sorry he felt about what happened in Nagasaki but it had to be done. People might die so other could live. The girl who screamed had lost her elder sister who had been studying in Nagasaki when the government operation took place. The shocked Nihawa Airi stormed out of the room, tears streaming down her face. She had completely ignored the teacher's calls after her. The headmaster cleared his voice after shooting the girl a scorning look. The noise calmed down instantly.

'Oshiro Kouichi-kun will join your class. I hope that I wouldn't hear any disturbing news about your treatment to him. And you should be proud to have the son of the army's strongest man in your class. Remember that the lack of respectful behaviors won't only hurt you but those who sent you to study here.'

The threat silenced them completely. He left the class, neglecting the scared stares that substituted the admiration ones minutes ago. The kid who looked like a dark angle when he stepped into the class turned into a devil even in the eyes of the girls who had seemed ready to form a fan club for him.

The teacher started her class, certain that it was useless to present anything in the last twenty minutes. The new student's eyes didn't leave the table in front of him. The hating eyes kept consuming him. They looked at him as a pawn to the government to destroy their peaceful lives. They had always tried to distance their lives from the conflict yet it was so much unlikely to ignore the threat that Oshiro formed.

Kouji didn't know how he was supposed to feel. Yet he was sure that he couldn't feel any kind of hatred towards the new boy. Something about him didn't give the impression of someone who was proud of his father's work. The other's avoidance of the class's stares when Nihawa ran out of the class wasn't a characteristic of a proud villain. Takuya tried to attract his attention by the same annoying pocking but Kouji skillfully avoided him. He didn't know why but Takuya and Izumi's stares at him weren't purely concern. There was something that triggered their attention in Oshiro Kouichi. Strange, Kouji noticed. He hated that man, Oshiro Takeshi. Heck, he ended up breaking the TV's remote control when the other's speech about feeling sorry for the victims was aired. Till now, he wasn't sure what had possessed him then to form such a reaction.

His wondering eyes gazed at the snowing sky from the closed window longingly. He felt as if the snow had warned him from today's events. Yet he simply ignored that pure, pointless warning. Hands sank in his bag, seizing his blue small headphones. No need to listen to the lesson anyway. He'd better lose himself in another world. Something that can take him away from the present, the ambiguous future and the nightmarish past. The past that was stubborn enough to stay sealed from his consciousness.

He kept gazing at the pure snow, feeling sorry for it deep down. It was going to get smeared with humans' sins eventually. His eyelids closed his eyes gate, taking him far away from the whole world.

**To Be Continued...!~**

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**Author's Note**

I am gonna write the author note in the end of the chapter for this story. *Finally*I was dying to finish this chapter. Wooow, It has been a year and a week since I joined fanfiction. _Omedetōgozaimasu_ Myself Hehe. A lot of things happened since then...!

Oh well, I have done a lot of research for the names and information for the district they are in now. According to Japanese climate sources, Sapporo is the coldest part of Japan and the capital of Hokkaido. It is the youngest major city in Japan.

I guess, this is the first time, I intended to concentrate on all the characters. So yes, this story will try to give all the gang their chance to appear and won't only focus on the "twins". Most of this chapter was introduction. Anyway, feel free to tell me your opinions please.

Ah, I was wondering, would you like me to separate the perspective by a certain symbol like !~... or sth like that? Personally, I think it is not confusing to shift perspectives as long as I am showing it clearly but it depends on you guys. I will separate the scenes with a line but I am not sure about the perspectives especially that paragraphs and parts might end up kinda short this way...

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

**OSHIRO**

Means "big castle". There were once five Okinawa kingdoms, and the Oshiros were the big castles.

**TAKESHI**  
Means "military, warrior" in Japanese.

**_Rikugun Taishō_**: General.


	2. Page Two: Forgetful Snow

**...!~**

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**Unknown  
**

**Forgetful Snow  
**

Tick…tick…tock

The seconds continued chasing each other turning page after another in the coming moments. The wall clock's hands were teasingly moving with sickining faint movement seemed as if it intended to prove how impossible it to escape the twelfth truths of time.

The blue clouded eyes followed the hands involuntarily. He watched silently the clock that centered the blank wall as it kept enjoying the majestic feeling of sitting in the middle of a white sky. The staring contest shifted from the clock to land on the smirking plain wall. It was obvious that the wall would win eventually. It wouldn't leave its place, keeping its shapeless gaze on whoever was challenging its strength or concentration.

A sigh that sounded more like an annoyed growl ended the contest with the expected result. Kouji rolled on his bed, trying to banish the sight of the blank wall. Seriously, why couldn't they paint the dorms walls or add some wallpapers? At least one wouldn't lose its mind while gazing unblinkingly at the mocking whiteness. Wasn't the white snow outside enough?

His gaze wondered slowly around the room. It was a normal sized room with two twin beds that were separated by elegant drawer. Two similar drawers were on each side of the twin beds. The other bed that belonged to his roommate was neater than usual unlike how messy it had been in the morning. His own bed was as messy as ever and now with the uniform's jacket dangling carelessly on the corner, it looked even messier. He didn't care too much about changing his clothes even if the closest was few inches from his bed. The closest faced the beds against the opposite wall. Its drawers had been divided equally between both of the roommates. Nothing was especial in his dorm's bedroom except the balcony. There was one dorm that contained a balcony in each floor in the dormitory building he was in. And his dorm was in the last floor in the building. A position that many had envied him for. And he couldn't really blame them. It was the only place beside the school's roof that was able to help him thinking. The closed glass doors mercilessly stopped the fresh, snowy air it used to bring to the room. Long, white curtains had covered them. He thought about giving his mind some time to rest by standing on the balcony. But It wouldn't be wise to do that now. He was supposed to be in his class so standing in the balcony would attract undesirable questions from whoever would take a glimpse of him.

The only reason he had resorted to staring and examining his room was to escape his thoughts or rather the contradictions inside him. Everything felt weird since that morning. The heavy yet calm snow, his waking up late, the nightmare that took for the first time a shape of a fog instead of not enabling him to remember even having one and… the new boy.

Oshiro Kouichi. Who the hell was he? The new kid wasn't normal. Heck, even the weird atmosphere around him was screaming with chaos. Why would he care though? Since when did he care anyway? It wasn't the first time to see a new student even if it was a rare occasion. But none of them had the destructive yet broken aura around Oshiro. None of them had his eyes…

Kouji shot from his bed and sat cross-legged, begging other thoughts that wouldn't include Oshiro to come. It was disturbing to think deeply about someone after less than three hours of meeting him. Yet, it didn't feel as weird as he thought. During the few minutes between classes, Takuya and Izumi tried so hard to tell him something. Their eyes hadn't stopped staring uncomfortably at the boy sitting next to him. For some reason, no one was able to talk loudly between classes as if Oshiro's existence was strangling their normal noise. It came as a miraculous relief when the headmaster's secretary entered the class breathlessly in the third period and asked to take Oshiro Kouichi.

The lunch break started and the boy didn't come back.

Kouji was glad for that. Really glad. The heavy, illogical burden had vanished once the secretary took Kouichi. As a result of that short peace of mind, he managed to think clearly in order to find a way to ditch Takuya and Izumi in the way to the cafeteria. If he hadn't, they would have continued nagging to know what had happened to him. As if he himself knew. Of course, they would be pretty mad at him later especially that they had been supposed to meet with Junpei and Tomoki. He would apologize later. For now, he would dismiss himself from the rest of the classes and no one would notice his absence except his friends. The class would be too busy wondering when Oshiro would come back, hoping that he would never. Even the fangirling atmosphere around the girls had vanished. Gossips had stopped temporarily and their attention moved to Nahawa Airi who hadn't come back to the classroom as well.

An hour had passed since the break's start. No doubt Takuya had wanted to come to his dorm and drag him to the others. Izumi had stopped the goggle-head for sure. There would be no way she would miss Takuya's hidden intentions of escaping the rest of classes as well.

He closed his eyes tiredly and lied on the bed. What mattered now was taking a nap to forget the reason behind needing it.

The sound of approaching footsteps for several people forced the attempt of sleeping to run away. He groaned and stepped out of his bed, eyes looking sharply at the door that lead to the corridor. The dormitory consisted of two connected rooms. A bedroom that contained the small bathroom and the balcony and the living room that had identical studying desk, TV , few armchairs and a long couch. What connected the rooms to the front door was a narrow corridor.

Closing the bedroom behind him, he walked slowly towards the front door. Whoever was there couldn't be one of his friends. They were stuck in their classes now. Even his roommate had a class now and being a book warm as he was, he wouldn't dare to miss a class. The hushed whispers told him that the footsteps belonged to a young female and an elder male. The voices were quite familiar but he couldn't put a finger to whom they belonged.

The voice of the door's click from outside alarmed him. No one was supposed to have the keys except who lived in the dorm.

He breathed heavily, searching cautiously for his kendo sword (He kept it as a memory of old times). Before he could even spot the wooden sword next to the living room's opened door, the dorm's door released a hissing sound, declaring being opened. Few seconds passed and all anxiety turned into frantic confusion. In front of him stood a shocked white haired old man and a young woman in her late twenties. Kouji recognized them immediately as the school's headmaster and the secretary. The man got over his shock rather quickly and smiled professionally at Kouji. The secretary whom Kouji didn't even remember her name offered an annoyed sort of smile, pushing her long black hair behind her ear. She took few steps closer, examining Kouji carefully with her pierce green eyes.

'Minamoto Kouji-Kun?' she asked a minute later, surprised that the boy didn't seem to lose his guards yet.

He nodded slowly.

'We are here for a change in the dorms arrangement.' As if remembering something, she cut her words and gasped in a girlish manner then shared a very short glance with the headmaster who nodded quickly as if he too had committed the sin of forgetting something important. The black haired woman left the room hurriedly, leaving Kouji and the headmaster alone.

Kouji expected the white haired man to scold him for missing classes. Instead the man crossed the corridor till he reached the neat sitting room. Kouji's eyes widened once he noticed the non-existence of his roommate's pile of books on the desk that Hiraiti usually occupy. Everything seemed so clean. Cleaner than normal. The room was cozy and inviting. Kouji realized suddenly that the heating system which hadn't been working for more than a month had been fixed. Now that he looked at his dorm with different eyes, he could notice that some objects had been removed while others had been added. For example, he had started thinking about the small leather black bag he had seen earlier beside his roommate's bed and the vase of white artificial flowers above the living room's table.

'Very good then.' The elder man turned to look at him in obvious seriousness. Kouji responded with equal seriousness, hiding his confusion deep down.

'I assume you noticed the…changes.'

Again, Kouji responded with a curt nod which the headmaster noticed but ignored.

'Hiraiti-kun had moved to another dormitory this morning. His belongings are in his new dorm now.' The headmaster said while distractedly admiring the portrait on the wall.

Kouji hadn't noticed it before and now he did, he became pretty horrified. The painting revealed freaking zombie arms that appeared in a ghostly manner from every corner of the photo. A deep red liquid was leaking from a nonexistent eye in the middle. The background was covered in blackness yet in fainter black to reveal the dark black arms and hands that were seeking the teary blood. There wasn't a face or an eye there and it wasn't easy to realize that the falling drop was a tear that rolled against someone's cheeks solemnly. He felt sick suddenly. His head started thumping faintly with a growing headache and his eyes became hardly able to keep their fierce gaze.

'You will have a new roommate.' The headmaster resumed his monotones words.

Kouji was barely concentrating then but he was glad that the headmaster's words had saved him from further gazing at the grim picture. Once the words clicked in his mind, he raised his head quickly, causing it to ache even more and asked rudely: 'Why would you do that?' It wasn't polite to address someone like the headmaster that way but he nor anyone else had the right to mess with his life. They couldn't change roommates just for nothing. There must be a reason…or a person.

The headmaster maintained his anxious calmness and said politely, 'It is none of your concern to address the school's administration unless you feel like changing the room yourself, Minamoto-kun. You're a reasonable boy and I expect you to behave logically.'

Kouji murmured a soft, barely audible "sorry." It wasn't wise to start a conflict with the headmaster, knowing that he would get nothing. Besides, he would not leave his dorm just to satisfy the new "roommate" or the administration.

'I am so s-sorry. I am late. He was wondering around the school...' The secretary's high pitched yet panting voice would have been able to make him jump in surprise in normal occasions. Fortunately, the situation didn't allow him to lose his sharp senses.

'It is all right, Tetora-san.' The principle placated her apologized tone in a very unbelievable voice. He seemed more worried than her. The old man titled his head towards the corridor, breathed deeply then took a glimpse of the figure that Kouji couldn't see. Whoever was there had been blocked by the headmaster's form.

Strangely, the headmaster's tone changed from its formality into a pretended warm voice as if he was talking to a close person. 'Oh, do come in. Oshiro-sama. It is your room after all.'

Kouji felt as if a lightning storm had hit him with its ultimate power. His knees were weakened, trembling unconsciously. The heavy sweat returned to occupy his forehead. Frozen in his place, he watched with a hardly worn mask of indifference the boy that had caused all the mess in his world that morning.

Oshiro Kouichi was standing calmly in front of the room. Few footsteps took him to the room after less than ten seconds. With closed eyes, Oshiro murmured. 'There was no need for all this mess.'

The headmaster's sweet face had fallen dramatically. He said in a slightly shivered tone, 'I am sorry but I hope you find the dorm…appropriate.' He seemed as if he was looking for a suitable word to describe the normal dorm.

'Good enough.' The reply was short and direct. In Kouji's opinion, anyone with common sense would take it as the conversation's end. However the headmaster didn't understand the voice that deeply and addressed Kouichi in a sickeningly kind tone. 'If you want, we had previously prepared a special room for you. Of course, you are the one who decide what to choose. We would be so delighted to se- '

'No, Thanks you Kumagorou-sesnei.' Kouichi turned to look at the headmaster with a freezing gaze. 'You should have asked for my permission before preparing that room. I didn't want to bother you with unneeded preparations.'

Kumagorou seemed as if he had been shot. He stumbled a step backwards and said worriedly. 'We beg you pardon. When you chose this room, we made our best to make it proper for you.'

'There was no need for such arrangements. The dorm was already suitable.' Kouichi breathed and looked around the room in scanning manner. Once his gaze fall on the wall's portrait, he narrowed his eyes and addressed the headmaster in a well-recognized impatience. 'You shouldn't have taken my belonging already, Kumagorou-sensei.

'I am so sorry. I will send someone to take down the painting. The vase would be taken to the bedroom if you want. No one touched your personal bag so you don't have to worry. In case you needed anything, you can order immediately.'

Part of Kouji felt sorry for Kumagorou-sensei. He was an old man who wanted nothing but the comfort and security. Serving the son of the Minister was a path to live comfortably. If Oshirou Kouichi had complained regarding anything, the old man would instantly be sent home, away from the place he had built and served for years. All anger and hatred had vanished when Kouji felt the humiliation the old man was putting himself in by his choice.

'Kumagorou-_san_. I am tired now. I need some rest. Do you mind?'

He called him with _san_ not _sensei_ as if the man had lost the position Oshiro had been giving him earlier. If Kouji was on the receiving end of that cold, emotionless tone, he would have been frozen or even worse so he wasn't surprised when the headmaster bowed quickly and headed towards the door in steps that looked like running more than walking. The secretary had been clearly trembling during the whole talk so she was more than saved when she followed the principle in even quicker steps. If the situation wasn't serious, Kouji would have laughed at the sight of them leaving like terrified rats.

The long raven haired teen hadn't been less anxious than the two adults during the short abrupt talk between his now "roommate" and the principle. The elegant slam of the dorm's door announced the fact that they were alone. That the boy he had missed classes because of became his new roommate. God, he was hardly able to stay himself while maintaining an eye contact which didn't last for more than a minute with that boy earlier.

Kouichi's hands were buried in his pants pocket; a habit that Kouji considered as a good imitation of his lone wolf attitude. Kouichi walked carefully around the room, examining silently each object. Once he reached the low table in the middle of the room, he reached out for the white roses. They looked as if they were made of glass or pure ice. The touch was so soft yet it was more than enough to cause a fragile petals to collapse and to fell to the carpeted floor.

Kouji was watching all that, expecting Kouichi to sound sad or even annoyed at the flower but the boy's face didn't show any readable emotions. Kouji was clearly offended when the boy acted as if he wasn't even there yet the fierce war in his mind about what he was supposed to do or to react had kept him occupied and tied his tongue for few minutes.

A thought tore his other thoughts, screaming rather loudly in his mind with: _"Just deal as if nothing is wrong because nothing is. What make you worried are the similarities between you two. Nothing is special about this Oshiro boy."_

He breathed deeply, embracing that thought and promising himself to keep his cool and to never lose his attitude even if who was standing in front of him was the son of the Minister of Defense.

Nothing much deserved looking at in the living room so it didn't take Kouichi that long to head towards the door in attempts to visit _his_ bedroom. Kouichi passed by him swiftly before stopping at the door without even turning to look at him. 'I am sorry for the disturbance they made. I should have given clear instructions.'

His tone didn't contain the faintest apologetic emotions yet nothing showed that the apologize was a fake one. The words were uttered in complete carefulness as if Kouichi had been examining every letter hundreds of times before pronouncing it. Now that Kouji's mind was partially clear, he recognized that Kouichi's tone with the headmaster earlier wasn't an ordering voice nor was it a proud tone of a master. He had been normal. Annoyingly normal. He hadn't been scolding or blaming. Just stating facts. Examining facts.

Kouji didn't respond to the apologize, simply because he couldn't find anything to say.

'Do you have a schedule?'

Kouji blinked in startle at the sudden question. The voice was a bit far than supposed which led him to the realization that Kouichi had headed towards the bedroom during the minute he took to analyze the other's "apologize."

'What do you mean?' Kouji asked coolly and followed him to the bedroom. There was no point in pretending to understand what Kouichi asked about but he would be sure to keep his tone as cold and indifferent as he could. He had even thought of challenging the freezing aura around Oshiro if given the chance.

Oshiro fixed his gaze on the small bag that was seated carefully beside his bed. He asked without any trace of wondering, giving his back again to Kouji. 'A fixed schedule for the room's cleaning, the bathroom usage and related issues.'

Honestly, Kouji had never thought that such a schedule existed. He had never discussed that with his previous roommate. The room had been normally bearable even if a bit untidy and he had never questioned who should keep it clean. Regarding the bathroom, he took showers few times a week and there had never been a need to discuss that with Hiraiti.

He shrugged after figuring out that an indifferent shrug would save him.

'I see. Would you mind if I took a shower now?'

Kouji fought the urge to gasp comically at the question. A reaction that Takuya would have shown in such situation. What helped him was Kouichi's normal way in asking it while preparing his clothes from the closet. It seemed as if the answer Kouji was going to give meant nothing at all. The question was a matter of politeness more than a request for permission.

'No.' Kouji answered the hanging question flatly and left the bedroom. If he stood longer with Kouichi, he would lose his mind. Strangely, their eyes hadn't even met. Kouji thanked whatever reasons that kept their eyes unlocked. He didn't even want to admit that Kouichi's somewhat similar eyes were terrifying like a Black Hole that could swallow galaxies. Somehow, he wondered if the reason behind the stars' falling in the Black Hole trap was being charmed by its unknown magic. Impressive and charming magic yet utterly dangerous.

* * *

He was shivering. A desperate struggle to breathe while trembling made his lungs smaller than proper. Kouji gasped for air, inhaling it hardly but more efficiently than the first few attempts. The blanket had abandoned him and joined the cold floor to warm it, ignoring his need for its warmth.

The unfocused blue eyes breathed finally in the soft darkness that engulfed them upon waking up. The calm darkness replaced the foggy whiteness the nightmares showed him. A small relieved sigh escaped him once he realized that he had been saved from the deadly nightmares once again.

_What is wrong with me? _

Everything started with the strange, disturbing night terrors he started having once he turned fourteen. They had been once a week but two weeks ago, they turned into a daily occurrence. He could never admit that he became used to wake up shivering after each of them without any memory of what they were talking about.

Till the last night's nightmare. He could remember himself being about six years old in that nightmare. The place was quite familiar as if it looked like a room in his house but he was sure that they didn't have a playing room at all. So why did his nightmare took place in such a place? And why was he even referring to it as a nightmare? The scenes were too vague to remember what they were telling him. He couldn't remember if he was alone or not or was he happy or sad. He couldn't even remember if the soft voice he had heard there belonged to his deceased mother, who had died when he was seven. If they had a playing room before her death that his father had closed after the funeral then why couldn't he remember having one?

This time he could only remember hearing the voice of a crying baby in tonight's dream. A new born baby maybe but nothing aside that was clear in his head now. The dream had been a crystal clear though before it became a stifling fog.

The shivering didn't stop even after he had wrapped the blue and white stripped blanket around his body in desperate need of warmth. Two minutes later, he realized that his cold wasn't only generated from the nightmare. The glass door of the balcony was fully opened, playing delightfully with the thin curtains that framed it.

He slipped into his slippers and tightened the warm pajamas top around him. In his short way towards the door, his eyes managed to spot the time on the wall clock. It was 1:40 AM.

The day had been too hectic. After the morning's crazy events, he wound up getting the roommate that had caused his world to spiral crazily. He had tried to abandon the room after the awkward conversation with Oshiro but was prevented from leaving the dorm because of some security arrangement. No one was allowed to leave his room in the boys' dorm. That was the only reasonable justification for not being attacked by Takuya after school. They were in the same building unlike Tommy and Junpei while Izumi was in the girls' section. If no one was allowed to leave their dorms then certainly no one whose room wasn't there would be allowed to enter the building. So he ended up, sitting in the living room for several hours, watching nothing but rubbish and doing his best to ignore the other; even though there was no interaction between them to try ignoring him. Luckily, the heavy breakfast Takuya forced him to have placated his hunger so he didn't even need to go to the small kitchen in the fifth floor to make himself something quick. As if he could save himself with preparing something. He had been epically hopeless in cooking. He would like leaving to the cafeteria but it was in another building. After the long boring hours, he had decided to take a shower and prepared himself to keep his rude attitude in front of his new roommate. Luckily, he was professional in acting like jerks so that increased his confidence.

When he stepped inside the bedroom, he wished he could throw himself from the balcony after finding out that his roommate was snuggled completely from head to toe under the blanket for what looked like hours. Angry and confused, he took a quick shower and slept…even though it was too early for sleeping.

Back to the present, he managed to touch the glass door with a blurry vision. A cold shiver ran down his spine one he stepped into the balcony. The freezing wind caused him to squeeze his eyes shut for brief seconds before realizing that the blowing winds weren't as rough as he thought.

A fully grown moon was seated in his throne in the clear sky. The soft rays seemed like a gentle divine shower that sent their blessings to the earth. It wasn't snowing but the snowy earth was twinkling brightly in the caring rays. He had never seen the moon so beautifully relaxed in the spot light in the sky. It seemed as if his powers were able to banish the little stars away, hiding their light with its strong presence. Far away yet it looked so close to the earth.

Kouji stood gazing at the sky for what looked like ages. He had to think about the reasons behind being charmed with the nature's phenomenon lately. The snow that morning felt so caring and understanding and now the moon was majestically warming him despite the cold wind. Slowly, his thoughts moved from wondering into a shocking disbelief once he looked straight. In front of him, his new roommate was sitting on the fence, hands barely gripping the fence's metal. The bluish hair looked brighter when it played along with the strangely comforting wind. If someone was in his case, he would scream frantically, ordering the crazy person who sits on a fence that overlooked the earth from the fifth floor to return to his senses. He took few steps closer, shuddering once the ground's snow tickled his feet despite the existence of supposed covering slippers. If Kouichi had felt his presence, he hadn't showed it. For a moment there, Kouji believed that the strong wind could easily throw the boy without second thoughts.

Kouji embraced himself to avoid the chilling weather and wished he could go inside to wear a coat or something warmer. However, that thought evaporated once he looked disbelievingly at Kouichi's clothes. Kouichi wasn't wearing what could be classified as warm clothes yet he didn't show any signals of shivering or being affected by the weather. His outfit consisted of a dark green T-shirt with a hood that had mixed combination of black and deep green and long grey shorts that stretched under his knees.

'Are you planning to commit suicide?' the question came out bluntly. It was difficult to judge it. It didn't lack the faint evidence of caring and unreasonable worry yet the voice held several degrees of annoyance and frustration.

Kouichi remained motionless, pushing Kouji to take another step and to raise his voice. 'Have you lost your mind? What the hell are you doing here?'

The short haired teen turned his head and asked Kouji causally as if asking about the moon's beauty. 'I am sorry but I don't think what I am doing have anything to do with you, Minamoto-Kun.'

Thankful for the lonely cloud that covered the moon's face for few seconds, Kouji controlled his blush of embarrassment and indignation. He was too focused on their conversation that he didn't even ask how the other knew his name.

'Well, you left the door opened. Of course that has everything to do with me!' Kouji regained his cool and shot back.

Kouichi abandoned the fence and landed elegantly on the floor, bare feet making contact with the snow.

'Then it is my fault. I am sorry. '

'Huh?' That boy was driving him crazy. How could he apologize this easily without even fighting back?

'I should have kept it closed.' Kouichi explained as if thinking that Kouji was unable to understand his simple apologize. This time, there wasn't a cloud that managed to hide the red color that painted his face.

Kouichi buried his hands in the T-shirt's pockets and walked towards the glass door. The drawn white flakes along with the black asleep bear on his T-shirt smirked in the soft light. Kouji remained frozen, begging himself to look at the other's eyes. It shouldn't be this difficult but…

'Who the hell are you?' He shot the irritating question that was eating him slowly. 'What are you doing here? Why did you choose my dorm out of all the dorms in the school?'

'You are asking a lot, don't you think?' a small, tasteless smirk curled the other's lips. It faded as quickly as it came. 'I have no answers that would satisfy your curiosity, though…'

Kouichi moved slowly till he stood by his side, facing the curtains and giving his back to the metal fence. 'Thinking too much about things you can't understand would only hurt you.'

The seriousness of the words sounded like a bombshell. It took Kouji few precious seconds to process what he heard and it took him another minute to ask with a fallen mask. 'What do you mean?'

'Waiting is the best solution for confusion.' Again, he was calm and reasonable as if he was reciting a well-measured speech.

'What should I consider your words?' A confused roar accompanied the scowl that covered Kouji's features when he turned to look at Kouichi challengingly. He didn't understand what he had been told yet his reaction towards confusion was shouting what his heart thought.

'That depends on you. Consider it an advice or a warning. Both work.' With those words Kouichi entered the bedroom, murmuring a soft, emotionless "good night."

* * *

His chest hurt as if unbearable burden had forced itself upon it. Kouji ignored that the glass door had closed partially in his face. The pure curtains continued their wordless conversation with the wind.

The moon continued smiling carelessly as if mocking him just like the snow around him. The glaring lights from the buildings around him joined the silent sarcastic party.

_What was that? _He asked himself, pushing his legs to carry him towards the fence. All desire to sleep had melted like the snow when it exposed itself to the sunlight. His fingers trembled against his will once they touched the cold metal. The mere looking from his place to the wide carpeted ground beneath him caused his head to spin.

He preferred looking at the sky and ignored the tempting need to lie on the floor for few minutes. Words were supposed to remain words. Harmless, meaningless no matter how seriously they were delivered. But the words he heard wasn't calling him more than talking to his mind and heart as if the feeling he felt earlier had been confirmed. The ocean-like orbs were calling him and the words seemed like talking to him, warning him yet they seemed as if they knew very well that it was useless. Warnings were pointless once you don't have any other choice but pushing the red limits. His limits weren't obvious to him though but a feeling told him that the limited lines started drawing themselves around him like a spider's web.

It was illogical to hear his heart beating so fast as if running out of time. The sense of reasoning disappeared despite his need to force his mind to work as logically as before. He took few short, abrupt breathes, closing his eyes slowly. He re-opened them and looked around him absentmindedly. Nothing could remain the same. His mind reached that result finally. The snow had promised for a change and he had tried to ignore it.

His heart's whispered realization informed him soothingly that changes weren't supposed to be bad. Maybe that was what he needed to get rid of the fog that clouded his heart and memories for years. Maybe this was the initial signal he was waiting and needing so desperately to reach.

Yet that didn't prevent him from fearing the coming change. A change that would send his life into an endless chain of loss…

**To Be Continued****...!~**

* * *

**********...!~**

**Author Note  
**

That was fun :) Quite strange. At least this story is going somewhere I know =^.^=

I intended to say something but I forgot what it was. It is 2:00 AM so sorry if something seems weird with this chapter. The coming chapter will show Junpei and Tomoki as well as the others.**  
**

Anyway, I'd like to see what you think of this chapter so don't hesitate, k?**  
**


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